MH17 The nephew of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 pilot Captain Wan Amran Yunus Amran said it was fate that took away his uncle, unexpectedly.

"We will definitely miss him. His wife (Auntie Mek Mariyam Yusoff) and his children, Nush and Irfan, have to be strong and keep praying," posted Wan Amran's nephew Asyraan Ahmad Bahlwi on his (Asyraan) Facebook account on July 18.

According to Asyraan, Wan Amran was a jovial man beyond comparison, intelligent and always liked to joke.

"We knew Ayah Ran (Wan Amran) for his kindness, his jokes which would always make us laugh, his undivided love, his intelligence which was admirable, never hurting any one of us and his high moral and religious values..."

"He was always kind...always ready to help us," he said at the tahlil (prayer) session held in Shah Alam on Saturday which was also attended by other relatives and Wan Amran's children.

Wan Amran was among 15 crew members of the ill-fated flight who perished together with 283 passengers when flight MH17 crashed in Donetsk, East Ukraine, on Thursday.

The plane departed Amsterdam, Netherlands at 12.15pm (Amsterdam time) on Thursday and was scheduled to arrive at the KL International Airport (KLIA), Sepang at 6.10am Friday.

Meanwhile, a Facebook account holder by the name of Khirriah Kodry uploaded a photo to remember her friend, Angeline Premila Rajandaran, an air stewardess whom she had known for 10 years.

Khirriah who uploaded Angeline's photo on July 18 wrote: "She just liked my photo yesterday, the photo of my grilled lamb that I cooked. Didn't expect it will be the last from her.

"Dear Angeline Premila, I just hope miracle happens but whatever it is, you will always be in our hearts...Always."

When contacted, Khirriah, a newsreader at a local internet television station, said: "Angeline was a friend who was very funny and easy to get along..... She was a sweet and loving person."

She said although they seldom met as both were busy with their careers, Angeline always showed support and concern for her friends through Facebook .

In The Jakarta Post website on Friday, Theo Lekatompessy, the elder brother of Charles Tamtelahitu, 63, one of the victims, said his family had lost two loved ones in a short period of time.

“My mother died yesterday (Wednesday) and her burial was due tomorrow (Friday). So, I had gone to buy the ticket for my brother to fly from Amsterdam to attend the funeral (in Jakarta). But what I got was more sadness," he said.

In the tragedy, 298 passengers and crew of MH17 died when the plane travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in the East Ukraine area.

- Bernama